Signs
by DarkTaoAngel
Summary: Sequel to The Moon's Shadow! Yoh and Anna finally together, but what seems to be too good to be true probably is. Hao and Hana are alive, and they have Anna! Yoh gets one clue: follow the signs.


DarkTaoAngel: Well, you asked for it, and now here it is! The long awaited, not anticipated, arrival of the sequel to The Moon's Shadow! I don't own Shaman King, and if I did, Ren and Horo would be a couple, and Yoh and Anna would not hate each other so much! Sorry for how short it is, but it will most likely get longer in later chapters! R&R, not a oneshot!

Summery: Sequel to 'The Moon's Shadow.' Yoh's wish worked, and he and Anna are together at last. But he's forgetting one thing: in the process of reversing time, he has also brought back Hao and Hana! Back with a vengeance, the father and son come back for Anna; creating a sort of game for Yoh, he must follow the signs given to him or face losing Anna forever! And even if he is able to win this trivial game of death, will he be able to face up to Hao and Hana, even if killing them destroys his only chance left to win back Anna?

/And now for the story/

Yoh Asakura yawned and stretched back in his chair, his eyes drooping slightly as he did so. He was tired, but he refused to let himself sleep. Anna was just going on a shopping trip, that was all. He wanted to tell himself that she would be alright, and that she would be home any time, but he could not bring himself to assure that fact. After all that had happened, he still wasn't all too sure that she was safe, and what made him feel even worse was the fact that he had not even thought about coming with her. That was the worst thing about being alone somewhere; you have way too much time to think.

She had left for the Mall or wherever she was going almost an hour previous, and Yoh had heard nothing from her since. And the worst part was that she had left alone, therefore she was unprotected. Yoh didn't want to think about what would happen if Hao were to find her. After all, when Yoh had wished to reverse time, he had not only brought Anna back, but Hao as well. And Hana, who Yoh still did not know that much about.

Sure, Yoh had gotten very close to questioning Anna about her relationship with Hao, but he had always backed out before he got around to asking. It was all in the past, but that didn't mean it wasn't important. Yoh knew Anna loved him, and he loved her, and nothing that may have happened in her past would stop that fact, but Yoh still couldn't help but wonder what really had happened. Was Hana really her son? And was Hao really her husband? Were they still married, or had Anna broken up with him a long time ago? Did Anna remember him; or more importantly, did she still love him?

Yoh leaned back in his chair further, trying to sort out all of the thoughts going through his head and failing miserably. Part of him wanted to know, but the other part of him want to forget that he had ever asked. He just wanted things to go back to normal, but if they did, then Anna would never have learned how he felt about her, and none of this would have happened. Now Anna was a lot nicer to Yoh, and, although it was hard for them to accept at first, his friends had been very supportive. And their wedding was scheduled for one month in the future, which meant lots of planning on their part. And even after all they had been through, Yoh knew it was worth the struggle.

None of Yoh's friend, no one other than Yoh, knew what had happened. Since Yoh had made the wish, he had been the one to remember. No one else seemed to act like anything was wrong, and Yoh wasn't about to tell them. He knew they would never believe him. What was he supposed to say, that Ren and Horo had died and magically come back to life because he had made a wish to the King of Spirits after becoming Shaman King in the future to save Anna who had also died as well as Hao and his and Anna's son Hana? Yeah, they would totally believe that.

Yoh sighed and stood up, unable to take the silence any longer. He missed having anyone over, and all of his friends were busy doing something of their own. Since Yoh had nothing left to do other than train, and for that he needed Anna, he had absolutely no plans of what to do until she came back. He had tried listening to music, and he had tried training on his own. But the music got boring after a while, and the training just wasn't the same without Anna there pushing him on.

Yoh finally made up his mind about one thing, after having not really eaten anything all day, he certainly was hungry, and food could use up some of his extra time. He left his chair and went to the kitchen which was adjacent to the living room in which he had just retreated from. Once there, he pulled open the refrigerator door and got out the necessary ingredients to make a nice sandwich for himself.

Yoh turned and started towards the living room again after having completed his snack, but something caught his attention before he got there. He could have sworn he heard a slight rustling and footsteps coming from just outside of the Inn. He turned to the nearest window, which happened to be the small kitchen window, and looked out of it. He saw a brief flash of red, but almost immediately it was gone. He knew right away what it must have been, and he tried to shake of the horrific feeling of being watched, but he knew better than to let his guard down. Anna and two of his closest friends had died last time he had.

Yoh tried to shrug off the feeling that he was having and continued towards the living room. In the hall on the way there he saw a mirror, hanging on the wall. The mirror had been in the Inn for years, but Yoh had never really looked in it. He thought that was more of a girly thing to do, and so he never really noticed it until then. He took a moment to look at it and gasped as he stared right into it. For, instead of his own reflection, the one staring back at him was that of Anna. But not Anna's face as Yoh had last seen it, but a paler version of it, with blood trickling down her face which hung limply in the mirror. Yoh's eyes widened and he wanted to scream but he felt as though his voice did not work properly. He turned to look away, not wanting to see the image in the mirror any longer, but when he turned back, it was gone. It made him wonder, was it even there? Or was his mind still thinking towards what had happened in the future that he had prevented by wishing to return to the past? Yoh tried to sort it out, but he heard another rustle outside, this time from just outside of the door. He immediately turned his attention to Hao and tried to not think about Anna at the moment.

He hadn't expected Hao to show himself so soon after having been defeated, but then again, only Yoh could remember his defeat, and so Hao in truth had not even seen Yoh in at least twice as long. But, why would he be there? The answer to that question came almost as soon as Yoh had time to think of it.

In the past, as Yoh remembered it, after Anna had hurt herself, Hao had showed up at the Inn. Since Anna had not really hurt herself, then Hao had not shown up yet, but this was about the time he had come last time, as Yoh remembered it. Great, he thought to himself, what if what happened last time happens again? What if I lose Anna and Ren and Horo all over again? What if I can't win them back and they disappear for good this time? And, as if on cue, the problem, namely Hao Asakura, presented himself again. Only this time, it wasn't the way it had happened as Yoh remembered.

Yoh heard to locked door click open, as if unlocking itself, and the door itself swung open immediately after. The wood made a creaking sound as it was forced open roughly, and the shuffling of footsteps made their way into the Inn soon after. Yoh heard a sort of laugh coming from the doorway, and Hao entered, seeing Yoh right away. Yoh set his forgotten sandwich on the counter in the kitchen and backed away slightly, wanting to be as far away from Hao as was possible.

"Aww, there's no reason to be afraid, dear brother. I've just come to warn you of something to come. I'll leave right after I tell you what I came to, and I won't come back," he said, in a mock friendly voice, and upon seeing Yoh's skeptical look, he added, "I promise."

Yoh was still leery about Hao's true intentions, but he knew it couldn't hurt to listen to what he had to say. After all, it could help him to figure out whatever it was Hao was up to in the long run. Yoh backed away another step, but went no further as Hao was following his footsteps and moving two more every time Yoh moved back one. Yoh stopped dead in his tracks, hoping against all odds that what Hao had to say had nothing to do with Anna.

"I only wanted to give you something, that's all. And this is how you treat your only brother? Well, I can see I'm not welcome. _Here_, I'll leave."

And Hao removed from his pocket something white, almost golden looking and flung it at Yoh before walking towards the door. He turned to leave but said one last thing before closing the door behind him, "_If you want her back, you must follow the signs_."

Yoh looked down at the piece of golden material clutched in his hand. It looked almost like hair, and upon noticing this, Yoh soon realized that it was not only hair, but Anna's hair. So, that was a sign? Was the image in the mirror a sign of what was to come, too? Did that mean Anna would soon look like what Yoh had seen in the mirror? If Hao had given Yoh a lock of Anna's hair, that could only mean one thing. That meant Hao had Anna. And there was only one way to get her back…

_Follow the signs._


End file.
